Monday, February 16, 2009

Doubt

With 13 more days until the start of theIditarod Invitational I feel like I'm pretty much as ready as I'm going to get. I just got my new Mountain Hardwear Ghost -40 sleeping bag in the mail today. I've got a few other last minute minor gear upgrades I'm planning to make and I'll certainly put in several more good days of training between now and March 1st, but the race could start tomorrow afternoon and I'd more or less be ready to go. I still have lots of doubts about various things. I have no idea what caused my ankle and back of knee pain that forced me to drop out of the race last year so I have no way of knowing for sure that the same thing won't happen again. I've never been out for any extended period of time in weather colder than 20 below zero so I really don't know for certain that the gear I have chosen will get the job done if the temperatures dip to 30 or 40 below. I feel confident in my physical strength and in my gear, but until I get out there and push beyond my current limits I have at least some level of doubt. These doubts if kept at their current level are, I think, a good thing. The key though is to try to find a way to not let these doubts create too much anxiety between now and the start of the race.

I had doubts before my first 10 mile road race, before my first 50k and 50 miler too. Now I have doubts before my 100 miler. That's what drives people like you to do this. You're a rock solid endurance athlete and I'm sure you'll be as or more ready than every other person at the start line. Plus you have a really cool sled.

What are the chances of -30 or colder temps? Are they in the extended forecast?

I have not heard you mention whether your training includes pulling your gear/sled. Sorry if I missed this. I wonder, do you think your ankle/back of knee pain last year was related to pulling your gear or had you been pulling it all along in training, too?

i do pull my sled in training. probably not as much as i should, but two years ago when i ran the susitna 100 miler dragging my sled i had no problems at all and then last year my ankle started to bother me about 25 or 30 miles into the race.